Early lacrosse stick architecture included wooden frames having a typical construction consisting of a solid handle, one sidewall, and a scoop all formed as a single continuous structure. Drawbacks of these wooden frames include poor resistance to water damage, susceptibility to fractures, relatively high weight, and substantial manufacturing costs due to the labor required to manually form the lacrosse stick into the desired shape.
Subsequent developments in lacrosse head structures included employing plastic (polymeric) injection molding to form a single integral frame having a solid base or ballstop, a solid scoop, and a pair of solid sidewalls all interconnected. See e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 3,507,495. These plastic lacrosse heads provided increased stiffness and decreased weight as compared to the prior wooden lacrosse sticks. They were also easier and less expensive to manufacture than the prior wooden sticks because they could be formed through automated processes like injection molding. Additionally, the plastic heads were formed independently from the lacrosse handles so that the head or handle could be replaced separately from the other if either was damaged or broken. The majority of these lacrosse heads were molded of a polyamide material such as Nylon 6,6.
Subsequent developments involved forming these plastic lacrosse heads with openings in the sidewalls (“open sidewalls”). The lacrosse heads with open sidewalls are generally lighter in weight than lacrosse heads with solid sidewalls and typically provide more flex due to the absence of supporting structure in the sidewall. This decrease in weight is beneficial because it can improve the handling characteristics of these lacrosse heads and also decrease the material costs and the manufacturing costs associated with the forming thereof. However, the absence of material from the sidewalls can also cause these lacrosse heads to have insufficient resistance to breakage or fracture. Additionally, the absence of material from these sidewalls can cause these heads to exhibit undue flex, which provides disadvantages during play.
To prevent premature breakage or fracturing of these open sidewall lacrosse heads, stiffening structures, such as ribs, have been integrally molded into the sidewalls or other portions of the head, including the throat portion. These stiffening ribs are intended to provide the lacrosse heads with sufficient stiffness or reinforcement in order to prevent breakage or fracturing as well as to minimize the flexibility of the heads. These stiffening ribs are formed of the same polymeric materials as the other portions of the head and are also formed during the same manufacturing process as the rest of the head. A drawback, however, of these stiffening ribs is that they typically increase the weight of the lacrosse head. For this reason, the stiffening ribs may increase the material costs as well as the manufacturing costs of the lacrosse head. In view of the foregoing, a person of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the design of a lacrosse head requires a balance between stiffness and weight in order to provide a head with optimum playability and performance. The inclusion of stiffening ribs in these prior heads, including open sidewall lacrosse heads, does not provide adequate stiffness under all circumstances.
For example, it is a common problem with these prior plastic lacrosse heads that when used, such as during warm or hot weather or on synthetic fields, they can become hot. In these conditions, the polymeric material from which the heads are constructed becomes soft and the strength may be, at least partially, compromised. At a minimum, the stiffness is significantly reduced which typically yields undesirable flexibility which negatively impacts the playability of the head. It is therefore desirable to provide a lacrosse stick that is resistant to the effects of heat or at least strengthened, such that properties of the stick are not compromised due to the heat typically present during game-play. Further, even in cool or normal temperatures, current plastic lacrosse heads can exhibit undue or undesirable flex that can significantly affect their playability. This flex of the head includes both forward flex and side-to-side flex and can result from a variety of normal actions, including contact with the ground, another stick or player. Additionally, current heads can exhibit undesirable flex when a player holding the stick is checked. In fact, in certain circumstances, this flex can cause the head to lose its shape or become deformed for short periods of time such that it is unusable. Thus, it is also desirable to provide a lacrosse head that has increased strength and/or playability under any circumstances.
It is further desirable to provide a lacrosse head that is sufficiently stiff to resist breakage, yet also has a relatively light weight for improving handling characteristics, decreasing material costs, and decreasing manufacturing costs associated therewith. It is also desirable to provide a lacrosse head that provides decreased flex and provides increased performance features.